


A Pinch of Seasoning

by simplyn2deep



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Community: fullmoon_ficlet, Food Critic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-03-11 15:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3330959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyn2deep/pseuds/simplyn2deep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hale siblings, Derek and Laura, own <i>Pastini’s</i>, a restaurant known for it’s pasta dishes. Enter Stiles Stilinski, secret food critic for the the online edition of the Beacon Hills Herald.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bland

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** Prompt 107: Bland at [](http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=fullmoon-ficlet)[fullmoon-ficlet](http://www.livejournal.com/community/fullmoon-ficlet/)

Walking into _Pastini’s_ , Stiles pressed the side of his watch to start the timer. It was something he always done when he walked into the restaurant he was going to be writing a review for.

He timed everything. How long it took to be seated. How long it took before a server asked for his drink order. How long the server took to return with his drink. And so on. After nearly six years as the anonymous food critic for the Beacon Hills Herald, he had his process down to a pretty exact science that had yet to fail him.

As he waited, so far two minutes when he glanced at his watch, he took in his surroundings. The Italian restaurant was quaint and had a bit of a homey feel to it. Stiles wondered how these siblings came by such authentic representations of various parts of Italy when, from his research, he didn’t think they were remotely Italian.

Glancing at his watch again, he’d now been waiting five minutes for someone to greet and lead him to a seat.

“Sorry to leave you waiting like that, sir,” a young lady said breathlessly. “Welcome to _Pastini’s_. Is it just you?”

Stiles smiled and nodded his head. “Just me.”

“I have just the table for you,” she said as she led him through the somewhat packed dining area.

She stopped at a table that was in a nice area of the restaurant. Not near the families with small children or large rowdy groups. It wasn’t near the kitchen or restroom or front door, but Stiles was able to see everything. If he didn’t know any better, he would think the hostess knew who he was and was trying to make up for keeping him waiting.

Dismissing the thought, Stiles turned his attention back to the woman who was handing him a drink menu.

“If you’d like to order a drink while you wait for your server, I can get that for you,” she said with a smile.

Glancing through the menu, Stiles took in the selections. “I’ll have a water and a Limoncello.”

“Great, I’ll be right back with that,” she said. “Also, here’s our food menu. The specials for the day are on the card in the center of the table.”

Stiles smiled and nodded his head and the hostess left to get his drinks.

Less than two minutes later man came to his table to deliver his drinks. “My name’s Isaac and I’ll be your server. Here are your drinks.”

“Thank you, Isaac,” Stiles replies as he picks up the limoncello, takes a sip and smiles. “This is really good.”

Isaac smiles, obviously pleased. “Thank you. I’m sure you haven’t had a chance to look over the menu, so I’ll give you a chance to do that.”

“Why don’t you tell me what your favorite item is,” Stiles suggests. He didn’t have a chance to look over the menu, but that didn’t bother him much with the quick return of his drinks.

“They’re all really good, but I’m partial to the baked ziti,” Isaac said after some thought.

“I’ll try that, then. Thanks.”

Nodding his head, Isaac wrote the request down. “Great. I’ll put your order in and get you some breadsticks.” He turned to leave, apologizing to another patron he accidentally bumped into and continued to the kitchen.

Shortly after Isaac left, he returned with a basket of breadsticks and a little plate with a couple of pallets of butter and left again to take another table’s order.

While Stiles waited, he watched the other workers and noticed the general happy feel for the restaurant. He also thought he saw the owner siblings, Laura and Derek, but he wasn’t sure. Stiles pulled out his cell phone to begin to make notes on what he observed so far.

“Hot plate, coming through,” a voice said to make sure other knew to be careful in bumping into him. The person stopped at his table. “Here’s your baked ziti.”

Stiles looked up. “Oh, that was fast.”

Isaac nodded his head. “Derek’s an old hand in the kitchen.”

“Derek Hale?” Stiles questioned. “The owner is also the cook?”

“He’s not the only cook, but he enjoys it and does so as often as he can,” Isaac said with a little shrug.

“Then I’m honored to have something he’s cooked,” Stiles said as he pulled the plate closer to him.

Isaac laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell him that.” He turned to get the food for his next table.

Throughout the hour and a half that Stiles was in _Pastini’s_ , Isaac checked with him every so often to make sure he was okay and if he needed a refill on his drinks. Stiles eventually finished his meal, which was okay, if a little flavorless, but overall, the place was okay. Getting Isaac's attention, Stiles asked for the check but had to declined a dessert.

"Thank you for your wonderful service and food," Stiles said as he stood up. He left a generous tip for Isaac because the young man was really a great server.

"I hope you'll come back again," Isaac called out.

Stiles waved goodbye and left.

Over the course of a month, Stiles frequented _Pastini’s_. Sometimes he was alone, sometimes with his father and sometimes with a friend. Each time, he was seated in a different area of the restaurant and had a different server, but over all the same outcome with each new dish he tried - bland and tasteless.

After his third visit he was introduced to the sibling owners. He hit it off great with Laura. Derek was another matter altogether. He came across as gruff and Stiles got the impression that Laura made him speak to the regulars when he'd rather be in the kitchen or somewhere else entirely.

As he was leaving from his sixth visit he overheard Laura and Derek talking near the office, which happened to be on the way to the restrooms.

"I've been checking the Herald every day," Laura said. "So far there hasn't been a review for us. Even if we do get one, it's going to be okay. We haven't had any complaints about the food. Ever."

Derek grumbled something too low for Stiles to hear, but he heard Laura's response. "No, I haven't been able to figure out who the secret food critic is," she said with an amused huff. "If we knew, it wouldn't be a secret."

Stiles momentarily felt bad for the review he was going to finally be writing up about the restaurant. He really liked the place, but the food really needed to improve. Chewing on his lip, Stiles paid for his meal and went to meet his father at the front door.

"All ready?" the older man asked. Stiles nodded his head and opened the door. "You sure you don't need one more visit before you do your review?"

Stiles looked around, hoping that no one overheard his father's comment. "Dad, you can't say stuff like that. No one is supposed to know," he hissed.

The door silently swung shut behind him and Isaac stepped from behind the fake grape vine covered wall with a shocked expression having overheard the brief conversation.

"Derek! Derek!" Isaac said as he rushed to his boss. "It's Stiles!"

Derek stopped his conversation with Laura to look at Isaac. "Who is Stiles?"

"The food guy!" he said. "The critic you've been asking about!"

"How do you know?" Laura demanded.

"I overheard him and his dad talking as they left. His dad asked if he had to come back again before giving his review and Stiles said no one was supposed to know about that."

Laura groaned. "I take it back, Der," she said. "We're screwed."

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "You said we'd be fine."

"We would if he wasn't the critic," she said. "Do you know how rude you were when you met him?"

"Duuude!" Isaac said. "You have to work on your people skills!"

Three days later, Derek was checking his email when he saw the alert with his restaurant's name in it. Clicking on the message, he found the link to the review and debated on if he should read it or remain blissfully unaware for what it could say.

After clicking away from the message and cleaning out the rest of his email, he went back to the message with the review and clicked on the link to read it.

_**A Pinch of Seasoning** _

_The food at Pastini’s appears simple, and the flavors, or lack there of, go right along with it. Pastini's is known for its range of pasta dishes, including Pasta alla Carbonara, Spaghetti alla Norma (named after an opera written by the famous Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini), Trenette al Pesto, and their self proclaimed "world famous" Bucatini all'Amatrician, to name a few. While the pastas are all made in house, following a recipe that is said to have been handed down from the Hale's great great grandmother, and the sauces made with vegetables that come from local farmers. Food wise, these dishes are sorely missing the seasoning. Not much, but just something to make them not be so bland and forgettable. However, the restaurant itself is both clean and tidy—despite having limited space—and once they realized you were there, staff members on the floor greeted every customer with warm smiles. If lack of seasoning and cramped space is your thing, Pastini's is the place for you. Otherwise, bring your own packets of seasoning and eat at your own risk._

Derek sighed. The review wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either. When he got to the bottom of the page, he saw there was an option to email the critic. Derek clicked on the link and debated on if he could refute any of the claims. He decided against that, instead decided to invite the critic to come back again and sample a new dish he was working on.

_To: The Beacon Hills Herald food critic who reviewed Pastini’s_

_I'm Derek Hale, the co-owner of the restaurant. I'd like to invite you back next month when we introduce our Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo. I'm sure you won't find it at all bland._

_Bring your father and friend along as well. I'm sure they'll like it as well._

_Regards,  
Derek Hale_

He read the message a couple of times before sending it. He knew that if Stiles accepted the offer, then he had to make sure his new dish was flawless. Derek finally clicked send and logged out of his email. He had work to do.


	2. Drown Your Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek goes to drown his sorrow after sending the e-mail to Stiles in regard to the less than stellar review of _Pastini’s_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for prompt 117: Intoxication at [](http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=fullmoon_ficlet)[fullmoon_ficlet](http://www.livejournal.com/community/fullmoon_ficlet/)

Derek doesn’t know why he's there, but he couldn't be at the restaurant while his sister thought of creative ways to curse the food critic who gave them a less than stellar review. Signaling the bartender to bring him another double shot of whiskey, Derek finished the drink in the glass he had before pushing it away.

To his left, two men entered the bar and went to a table. Derek could hear part of their conversation as they walked by. Turning to look at them, Derek's eyes went wide. It was the food critic! What were the odds of that? He certainly wasn't expecting to ever see the guy again, but there he was, walking through the bar to a back booth.

"I'm telling you, Scott, that was the first time anyone has e-mailed me wanting to prove their restaurant was different than how I reviewed." the first man said.

"Are you going to go?" the second man asked.

"I might..," the first man said, but Derek didn't hear the rest of what he said as they moved too far away.

Picking up the glass the bartender placed him front of him, Derek debated on if he should go and plead his case, in person, to the critic. Maybe that would secure him a second visit and a chance to really wow him.

Before he could make a decision, he saw the second man making his way to the bar, presumably to order drinks. Derek pulled out his wallet and the highest bill he had and put it down.

"Hey Mike...," Derek said wanting to get the man's attention. He pointed to the guy heading to the bar, "cover this guy and his friend's tab. Tell him it's from Derek."

The bartender raised and eyebrow but took the bill. "You settling up for the night?"

Derek nodded and handed over his credit card to pay for his two drinks and to leave a tip. He wished he could stay to see their reaction or whatever, but he'd likely come off as a creeper and never get the critic back to his restaurant.


	3. Conditional Dining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Against his better judgment, Stiles replies to Derek's email and gives dining at _Pastini's_ another shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for prompt 123: Condition at [](http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=fullmoon_ficlet)[fullmoon_ficlet](http://www.livejournal.com/community/fullmoon_ficlet/)

Stiles had never saved any of the letters he got from people complaining about his reviews of their establishments, but there was something that made him keep the letter from Derek Hale. What was said in the letter was no different than what he had read in dozens of other letters, but he still hesitated on deleting it when his editor forwarded it to him.

Pulling out a sheet of computer paper, Stiles began to write his reply to Derek. He didn't know what he planned on saying in the response, but he knew it would be quick and to the point, much like the letter he received.

_Dear Mr. Hale,_

_I'm not going to bother to ask how you know me because after the drink that were bought for me last week (thank you, though it wasn't necessary), I'm fairly confident you saw me leaving your restaurant before I left my review._

_Thank you for the invite to sample the new dish you will be introducing next month. Fettuccine Alfredo is one of my favorite dishes and I haven't had a shrimp version that I liked since the time I visited Italy._

_I am accepting your invite on the condition that you also prepare Bucatini all'Amatrician as I thought that was one of the best dishes I tried, despite it being on the bland side._

_I look forward to both of these dishes on my next visit._

_Beacon Hills Herald food critic who reviewed Pastini’s  
;-)_

The smiling winky face that Stiles added at the end was done on whim, much like his decision to accept Derek's invitation.

Stiles put the letter in an envelope, stamped and addressed it before heading off to see if Scott or his father wanted to go out to dinner. He had other reviews to still do.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read/kudo/comment. For now this is a one-shot, but there could be a sequel once my writing plate isn’t so full.


End file.
